


Older and Wiser

by Eve_Louise (Stregatrek)



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, I had this idea and it was too good not to do, M/M, Musical Fic, Sorry Not Sorry, come on they're in a school play it's bound to be cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 15:53:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7624711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stregatrek/pseuds/Eve_Louise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High school AU where Julian Bashir is so proud of himself to have landed a role in the school’s version of the Sound of Music that he doesn’t even mind that the role is Liesel, the blushing sixteen-year-old. In fact, once he sees which of the senior boys is playing Rolf, he thinks he’ll rather like the role.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Older and Wiser

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acuddleinbelgravia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acuddleinbelgravia/gifts).



On the very first day, the director wants to establish chemistry.  


Julian Bashir, who has spent every day since looking at the cast list stumbling whenever he spots “Rolf” in the hallways between classes, is understandably nervous. He says as much to Jadzia at least fifteen times throughout the course of the day, usually right after seeing the older boy in the halls. She’s not very sympathetic, not that he had expected her to be.  


His nerves are really not helped at all when someone comes up behind him as he sits in the drama classroom waiting for the hands to point to the time he’s meant to be on stage, nor when this someone puts their hands on his shoulders and says in a far too familiar voice, “So, you’re my Liesel.”  


Trying very, very hard to be cool, Bashir turns around and looks up into Garak’s eyes, and he’s sure the senior boy approached him while he was sitting down on purpose since actually Julian’s a little taller than him. “That’s what the casting sheet said,” Julian replied, trying not to put any feelings on the subject into his voice.  


Garak appraised him for a moment longer, and then he smiled. “Wonderful,”  


Before either of them could say more, the other students scattered about the room jumped up and headed for the stage. “Looks like we should go,” Bashir said, standing. Garak let him up, but didn’t remove his hands until Julian started to walk.  


At the front of the stage, Director Fontaine was waiting for them. “Heya now, here we go. Everyone here? All right, let’s get this show on the road!” A couple students laughed half-heartedly and Fontaine continued, “Now, I want you all to get to know each other, so what I have here are some copies of the scripts I gave out when roles were announced- just in case any of you forgot your copy, you got me? So here we go, I’ll read out the roles and I want you to get into the groups I assign, each group has the same page number marked in the back of their book, I want you to do that scene. I don’t care if you don’t know it, no one’s watching, I’m not even watching! This is just so you can all get a feel for each other, alright?”  


There were some mutterings of assent. Bashir nodded enthusiastically, but stopped when he noticed Garak looking at him strangely.  


“Okay then, here we go! I want Maria and the Captain, obviously- the Baroness and Max over there, all the kids in that corner except Liesel- Liesel I want you with Rolf, and I want you to know that we’ll be calling you Lyle. This is a real good adaptation, alright, real good, and you’re gonna be amazing. Nuns, to stage left, have a good time! Other characters, anyone in the background or at the ball, head out into the seats and have a talk, get to know each other! Everyone alright?” Fontaine looked around as the students scrambled to their places. “All right, get cracking!”  


Julian thumbed nervously at his script, looking for the place Fontaine had marked. “So, um,” he started, and looked up to see Garak still watching him. “Do you like the Sound of Music?”  


“I very much enjoy the sound of classical,” Garak said brightly. “Although I’m really open to anything, I think that more modern styles are often not given all the credit they deserve, don’t you agree?” He looked at Julian slyly.   


Julian found it a bit disorienting that this oddly attractive and incredibly intimidating older boy were chatting to him with such a chipper sense of humor. Not that they didn’t _know _eachother, but Julian always assumed Garak just sort of saw him as part of the background student body at District School Nine. “I- um, yes, I agree, but I meant the play,”__  


“Oh, of course you did, silly of me. Yes, I do rather enjoy this play, I’m very interested to see how our adaptation will turn out.”  


“I hope it’s good,” Julian said and tried a smile, which slid off his face as he found the spot Fontaine had marked. “Oh. We’re-um- we’re meant to be doing the gazebo scene.”  


“Yes, I did think we might begin there. Mr. Fontaine quite likes to jump right in, doesn’t he?”   


Julian smiled for real. “He does indeed. Well,” He dropped his script face-down, trying to feign more confidence than he felt. “I know all the words in this by heart, so if you’re ready,” he offered a hand, “so am I.”   


With a smile that looked entirely real but still strangely plastic, Garak took his hand. Julian caught his breath, but the moment was ruined by the chorus of nuns across the stage suddenly shrieking, “How do you solve a problem like MarieeeAAAAHHHH-” led by the lovely, uptight, rather controlling (flawless Mother Abbess) Kira Nerys. Julian started giggling.  


“Yes, well, one hopes that they will improve,” Garak smiled at him and tugged him two steps further away, as though that would make a difference. “Are you ready?  


“Okay,” Bashir squeaked, momentary courage forgotten.  


He counted it as a blessing that Rolf sang first, because he wasn’t sure a real noise would come out of his mouth, much less anything musical.  


It didn’t matter anyway, because once the song started Garak kept him far too busy, twirling him in a way that wasn’t quite in the movie but made the whole thing seem so much more fun. Without a score, their acapella rendition probably left something to be desired, but Bashir found himself enjoying it immensely, and Garak was smiling too, dodging around Julian, light on his feet in a way he really didn’t look.  


“You need someone older and wiser telling you what to do- I am seventeen going on eighteen; I’ll take care of you.” It was impossible to tell whether Garak was reading as much into the lyrics as Julian was, but didn’t this seem just a little bit _too _perfect? He tried not to look besotted, but at the same time resisted taking his gaze from Garak. He didn’t even want to know what Jadzia was thinking about this.__  


“I am sixteen, going on seventeen, I know that I’m naïve- fellows I meet may tell me I’m sweet and willingly I believe,” Julian only felt a little silly singing like this with no preparation, and he supposed that if he felt less silly it might be alarming him how easy it was to do a scene he’d always found romantic while being twirled about by a boy he’d caught himself daydreaming about more than once. He tried not to let these thoughts distract him from the lyrics or where he was putting his feet.  


To Julian’s immense surprise, just when it should have been all music and no lyrics, Garak lifted him and spun him perfectly, swinging him in circles Rodgers and Hammerstein would have been proud of. He barely had the presence of mind to worry about the fact that there was a scripted kiss when Garak put him down.  


He couldn’t fly forever, and when his feet hit the stage- lightly, thanks to Garak- he knew he was smiling a ridiculous breathless smile, and Garak was looking at him like their lives were a romance movie just leading up to the moment when they each realized they’d been falling in love with the other from a distance.  


“Just kiss already!” Shouted a familiar voice, and Julian jumped back, glaring at Jadzia- who was going to make a terrible nun, if she kept going on that way.  


“Now, now, no need to push on the first day!” Fontaine exclaimed, clapping slowly. “But that was really something boys, really something! I gotta say, I think we’re gonna go far!”  


Winn, playing the housekeeper, made a disparaging noise in the back of her throat. Kira glared at her, but Julian barely noticed. “That was… That was completely amazing, Garak, where did you learn to dance like that?”  


“I went to a rather artistic middle school,” Garak demurred. “But if you’re that interested, I could tell you about it over dinner?”  


“Really? I mean, yes, yes, that’d be amazing!” Julian smiled. “When?”  


“Tomorrow night, perhaps? And if you like, you could call me by my first name,”  
Garak was smiling at him as though he were intrigued by something Julian had done. The younger boy found he rather enjoyed the expression. It was tempting to try to show off, but he wasn’t sure what he could do that would possibly impress Garak.  


“Elim, then,” he smiled. “Should we… Everyone else is going over their scenes again. Should we?”  


“I would like that,” Elim said, taking Julian’s hands again. Julian wondered if he remembered that in the movie Rolf and Liesel hadn’t touched for the start of the song. He didn’t much care. After all, this was an adapted version.  


**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to draw this, but unfortunately I am a terrible artist. So, you have this instead. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
